


How Do I Thank You?

by sennawritesthings



Category: Like Us Series - Krista Ritchie & Becca Ritchie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-05
Updated: 2019-08-05
Packaged: 2020-08-09 23:24:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20125555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sennawritesthings/pseuds/sennawritesthings
Summary: winona struggles with her relationship with rose.





	How Do I Thank You?

Even though there were nine of them, somehow the Cobalt home was the quietest of our family. It wasn’t like mine, where something was always happening. And it wasn’t like the Hales, where there was always some kind of marathon going on. But that probably had to do with the fact that most of the Cobalt kids had moved out and only ever visited for their Wednesday night dinners.

Still, I’ve never really liked visiting the house. I never knew how to act around Aunt Rose and Uncle Connor. I’d told my dad that once and he said, “Just be you, Nona. They fucking love you no matter what.” But it didn’t really feel like that.

My parents never hid the fact that Aunt Rose was their surrogate for me. That they were so grateful for her and to even have me in their life. And I loved that. I mean it really fucked me up sometimes—to think that I was so close to not existing, that Sulli was close to being an only child if my parents chose not to adopt—but I loved it.

It’s just that a part of me would always feel like I belonged to Aunt Rose and Uncle Connor. It probably didn’t make sense. I’m Winona Briar fucking Meadows, as dad would say. One half of Daisy Meadows (nee Calloway) and one half of Ryke Meadows. Sulli was their miracle baby, but I was the baby they fought for. But Aunt Rose was the one who carried me for nine months. She was the one who felt me move around. She was the one I was attached to in the womb. That doesn’t just go away once you’re born.

So I didn’t exactly know what to do or say while I waited for Ben to finish getting ready for us to leave for our event. It was weird that Aunt Rose was home during the weekday in the first place. She and Uncle Connor had stopped staying home when their kids were old enough to take care of themselves for a while.

Then I remember Ben telling me that Audrey wasn’t feeling well, so she must’ve stayed home to take care of her.

We’re in the kitchen. It’s the first time we’ve ever been truly alone with each other since... well, _ever_. She’s making soup while she types away on her laptop. I’m… just sitting here, wishing Ben would hurry up. I don’t know why he’s not even ready when the Cobalts have taught all their kids about punctuality.

Part of me wants to just run away. Forget the event. Grab one of the bikes from home and go for a ride.

I don’t know how to thank her for what she’s done for me and my family. I don’t know how to tell her how much she means to me.

I can tell that she wants to say something to me, too, but Aunt Rose has never been the best at sharing her feelings. Not even with her own children. Only Uncle Connor knows how she truly feels at all times. And maybe Aunt Lily and my mom, too.

So I do what any of us Meadows would do at home. I hug her tightly, kissing her cheek. She jumps a little in surprise.

“You know how much I love you, right, Aunt Rose?”

She’s the reason why I’m here. I think, aside from my parents and Sulli, I love her the most. I think that’s why I’m always so afraid of her. She’s a part of me, the way that I am a part of my mom. I’m a Meadows, but some small, itty, bitty part of me is a Cobalt, too.

Her eyes mist as she hugs me back. She kisses my forehead and nods. “I do. Do you know how much I love you, Nona?”

“Yes,” I say, because I do.

She isn’t a hugger, but she hugged me back. She doesn’t really use any of our nicknames, but she just used mine. I know that if anything were to happen, she would do anything for her kids. For Aunt Lily’s. For me and Sulli.

Ben comes in then, raising a brow at my embrace with his mom, but he doesn’t say anything. I see the hint of relief in his eyes. He knows more than anyone how I feel when it comes to her.

I make sure to set up a lunch date with Aunt Rose before we leave. Just the two of us.


End file.
